


Pray for a Miracle

by sarcasmandships



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canonical Character Death, Claudia Stilinski Feels, Claudia Stilinski is very Catholic, Claudia and Noah Stilinski Love Story, Claudia is flirty and Noah is awkward, Claudia is very Polish, Claudia would've believed Stiles, Eventual Sterek, F/M, Fertility Issues, Flirting, Frontotemporal Dementia, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, M/M, Miscarriage, Roman Catholicism, Sheriff Stilinski Feels, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is Noah, Sick Claudia Stilinski, Stilinski Family Feels, Young Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:22:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28722078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarcasmandships/pseuds/sarcasmandships
Summary: When Claudia Gajos met Noah Stilinski, there was an immediate spark.'Claudia raised her eyebrows at him, giving him the ‘I know better’ look that Noah would become well acquainted with over the next decade and a half. Of course, he didn’t know that then.In 1989 all he knew was that this was his first, big case – and this woman was proving exceedingly difficult to interview.'
Relationships: Claudia Stilinski & Stiles Stilinski, Claudia Stilinski/Sheriff Stilinski, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Lydia Martin/Stiles Stilinski, Melissa McCall & Claudia Stilinski, Sheriff Stilinski & Stiles Stilinski, Talia Hale & Claudia Stilinski
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter contains non-descriptive references to:  
> \- a car accident  
> \- death (including the death of children)  
> \- workplace sexual harassment

Claudia had a strong Polish accent the first time he met her.

It was 1989, and Noah Stilinski was a fresh-faced deputy at Beacon Hills Police Department; this was his first, big case. It was a straight-forward hit and run. Or rather, it should’ve been a straight-forward hit and run.

But the driver the car was registered to claimed his car had been stolen and he had been at work at the time of the accident; and since the CCTV in the area couldn’t capture a clear image of the driver – Noah had to interview the young woman the driver claimed to be on shift with that night.

“You’re Claudia Gajos, laboratory technician at Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital – is that correct?” he asked, his voice was deep and gruff; he was trying to make himself sound confident.

“No,” the young woman shook her head, she had long brown hair, tan olive skin and dark eyes.

“No? You’re not Claudia Gajos?” Noah asked, losing some of his calm composure.

This could not be happening. How could he have brought the wrong woman to the station on his first, big case?

“I am _Claudia_ _Gajos_. Claudia like cloud – not claw. And Gajos like guy-os, no hard ‘j’ sound,” she explained, a smirk playing on her lips.

“Ah, right. Sorry.”

“It’s okay, you Americans butcher everything,” she drawled, her thick accent clinging to every word.

“And you’re not American?”

“Do I sound American to you, deputy?” she raised an eyebrow at him, her gaze unwavering.

Noah flushed and fidgeted with the pen in his hand, tapping it erratically against his clipboard. This was his first, big case and his only lead wouldn't answer a straight-forward question. Her accent was hypnotic but her words were infuriating, to say the least.

"Well, er – no…I suppose you don’t.”

She smiled, “I’m Polish, we moved here when I was ten.”

“Right. And you’re now 25, correct?” he said, flustered, and trying to bring the conversation back to the pre-written questions.

“No.”

Noah's heart seized in his chest; he was going to fuck up this case and it wouldn't even be his fault. 

“No?”

“I’m _dwadzieścia pięć_ ,” she said, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

“I don’t speak Polish,” Noah grunted.

“It means 25 – I’m messing with you, deputy.”

Noah sighed deeply, “Miss Gajos-”

“ _Gajos_.”

“Sorry, Miss _Gajos,_ you’re my only potential lead here – a family of five died in that hit and run and the suspect the car was registered to claims it couldn’t have been him because his car had been stolen and he was at work with you,” he said, all in one breath.

“Deputy, breathe. Do you think I don’t understand the gravity of the situation? You already know I was working that night when they brought the family into the E.R – but you probably don’t know that I ran labs for all of them. I ran the tox screen for the father who was driving, it showed he had no drugs or alcohol in his system, you probably have a copy of it in your big, scary folder,” she motioned towards Noah’s binder, bursting to the brim with papers.

He nodded and she continued.

“I ran the labs that showed the youngest daughter was in renal failure – meaning she would likely go into multi-system organ failure and die. Which she did.”

Noah grimaced the youngest daughter – Olivia Jones. She was only five years old.

“I run labs like that every day, and I give the results back to the doctor or nurse so they can hand their patient a death sentence. Every, single day. But I can’t get emotional over every patient whose blood work I analyse, all I can do is send up a prayer and hope that it’s God’s plan that they live. And for the ones in renal failure? Or with meningitis? Or whose pathology results show that their is tumour malignant – I pray for a miracle. And I move on to the next patient.”

“You pray for them?” Noah said an eyebrow raised sceptically.

Claudia nodded, “God works in mysterious ways. He never gives us more than we can handle, but I handle what he gives me with humour. And by teasing cute deputies, you should try it. Because you _really_ need to relax.”

“I’ll relax when I get through all these questions, think you can help me with that Miss _Gajos_?”

Claudia raised her eyebrows at him, giving him the _‘I know better’_ look that Noah would become well acquainted with over the next decade and a half. Of course, he didn’t know that then.

In 1989 all he knew was that this was his first, big case – and this woman was proving exceedingly difficult to interview.

She sighed, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, exposing a thin, white scar that ran down the length of her neck and disappeared beneath the collar of her t-shirt, “okay, first question. Go.”

“Okay, so I can confirm that you are _Claudia Gajos_ , age 25, laboratory technician at Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital?”

“Yessir,” she said, saluting him.

“Moving on,” he said through gritted teeth, “and you were working on the night of April 10th, 1989 – between the hours of midnight and 8 am?”

“Yes, and then back in again at noon till 6.30 pm.”

“Double shift?”

“Yes, every Sunday morning Ross covers my morning shift so I can go to mass and I work the graveyard shift for him. But since I still need to come in on a Monday as per my contract, Ross lets me start at noon instead of 9 am so I can get some sleep, he’s a good boss like that,” she said wistfully.

“Ross is in reference to Graham Ross, the suspected driver?”

“Yes.”

“And what is your relationship with Mr Ross?”

Claudia pursed her lips tightly, “professional.”

“You don’t consider him a friend? Yet he does you the favour of covering your shift every Sunday morning and lets you come in late on a Monday?”

“I think you mean, that I cover his night shift to let him enjoy the remainder of his weekend while he works the slow, Sunday morning shift. Its luck for him that he hired the devout Catholic who would rather work through the night than miss communion. And then he lets me crash in an on-call room for a few hours before I clock in again, because we’re less likely to make mistakes when we’ve had sleep. That makes him a better boss than one who would force me to work straight through, it doesn’t make him my friend. Or anything more than that.”

“I’m sorry if I implied there was anything more between you two, Miss Gajos. I just need to ask the questions I think will help me solve this case.”

Claudia nodded stiffly, “next question.”

“CCTV footage shows us that the crash occurred on Magnolia Crescent, at approximately 12.10 am on the morning of April 10th. The Jones family were returning from visiting Mr Jones’ parents in Portland, they were due to be home hours prior, but there was construction work on the main interstate between Oregon and California, so they had to follow a diversion and it set them back hours. The collision occurred just one block away from their home. They were-” Noah sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose, “they were never supposed to be there.”

Claudia gripped the crucifix around her neck and nodded for him to continue.

“We only have an approximation on the time of the crash because there was no CCTV on the street the collision occurred. There was a camera a few streets over which showed the Jones family car, followed the car registered to Mr Ross driving towards Magnolia Crescent at 12.03 am. And then it showed the car registered to Mr Ross speeding away from Magnolia Crescent at 12.14 am. On both occasions, the surveillance footage was not clear enough to show who was driving the car registered to Mr Ross.”

“Okay.”

“The camera did capture the license plate, and we were able to identify it as Mr Ross’ car. However, when questioned he claimed that his car had been stolen earlier in the day, but he had not reported it stolen to police, he said it was a ‘hunk of junk’ car, so anyone who stole it must’ve been desperate and he didn’t want to get them in trouble,” Noah looked up at Claudia to gauge her response.

She shrugged, “sounds like something he’d do. And he’s right about it being a hunk of junk.”

“Right, well. The ‘hunk of junk’ excuse isn’t likely to hold up in a court of law. And a hit and run can be charged as a felony in California, especially when the fatalities involve three children under the age of 10-”

“Deputy? You’re shouting,” Claudia said, she reached across the table and squeezed Noah’s hand, “I told you – you need to relax.”

“Sorry,” he nodded and took a gulp of his water, “when we informed Mr Ross that he could potentially be charged with a felony he told us that he was at work at the time of the crash, with you. And that you could verify his story.”

“Okay.”

“We identified the license plate and Mr Ross as a suspect by 10.00 am on Monday the 10th of April and immediately brought him in for questioning, as per the recommendation of Sheriff O'Malley Mr Ross has taken a leave of absence from work since we first spoke to him. Since the two of you have no personal relationship and assuming his story is true, you won’t have seen Mr Ross since he joined you for the graveyard shift that you always cover for him – is this correct?”

Claudia clutched her crucifix again, she closed her eyes, “thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbour.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbour – it’s the eighth commandment,” she held her head in her hands.

“False witness against thy neighbour – what does that mean? That you have to cover for your friends?”

Claudia lifted her head up and narrowed her eyes at him, “I told you he isn’t my friend. And no. Bear false witness means to lie, to _not_ bear false witness means we should tell the truth.”

“What does the neighbour part mean?”

“Do I look like John-Paul II?”

“No.”

“Then I don’t know,” she huffed, “I just know it means you should tell the truth.”

“Well, I could’ve told you that, can you just answer the question?”

“Ross took a chance on me when he hired me, I was a wreck in my interview. I got so nervous before it I nearly forgot how to speak English, this was my first job out of college – and Ross took a risk by hiring the young woman with next to no experience and an accent so thick he had to ask me to repeat my name three times. The more anxious I get, the more Polish I sound-”

“Miss Gajos, do I need to remind you of what we are dealing with here-”

“Do you know what the fifth commandment is, deputy?”

Noah sighed, “no, I don’t.”

“Thou shall not kill.”

“Did Mr Ross break the fifth commandment? Is that what you’re saying?”

Claudia sighed deeply, “I really don’t believe he meant to. But he wasn’t at work with me, and if his car were stolen it would have to have been between 11.35pm and the time of the crash, which seems unlikely to me. I dropped my jeep off at a mechanic after mass on Sunday afternoon, Ross drove me to work that night because I didn’t have anyone else to get a ride from and he didn’t want me walking in the dark.”

“So, to clarify, you cannot confirm that Mr Ross was at work with you at 1.30 am on the morning of Monday the 11th?”

Claudia shook her head.

“And he dropped you off for your shift at 11.35 pm on Sunday the 9th? You’re sure?”

“Yes. I like to be early; I remember the time because the cart that sells the best coffee in the hospital shuts at 11.30 pm, but he stayed open an extra five minutes for me because he knows I come in and get a double espresso latte with skimmed milk every Sunday night before my shift. He told me he only waits an extra five minutes for the _pretty_ lab techs…that’s why I remember the time.”

“And this was the last time you saw Mr Ross?”

“Yes,” she sighed, “and 45 minutes later he’d fatally injured five people. Three of them were kids. And I ran their labs, I didn’t even know they were hit and run victims till hours later, I went to the I.C.U nurses station and I saw Olivia Jones’ chart. It was just sitting there, I recognised the name from the testing form because when I saw she was in renal failure – I prayed for a miracle for her. And then I see that name on the chart of a _five-year-old girl_ , hit and run,” her voice was shaky, and she spoke too fast; the end of each word blurred into the next and Noah had to focus intently just to understand what she was saying.

Claudia took a deep breath to ground herself, she wouldn’t make eye contact with him and she focused on fiddling with her watch.

“I’m very sorry, Miss Gajos.”

“I didn’t even know Ross was involved until it was 10 am on the Monday morning and I had five nurses banging down the door of the on-call room I was sleeping in. Because Ross wasn’t in the lab, and as far as everyone else knew – I should’ve been working from 9 am. And the nursers need the labs for the doctors so they can go and save a life, or realise that they can’t.”

“I appreciate you telling me the truth, Mr Ross obviously thought you were going to cover for him-”

“He thinks I should owe him,” she slammed her hands down on the metal table, Noah’s eyes darted to the door in case anyone came to investigate the loud bang. Thankfully, they did not.

“Sorry…” she whispered, still not looking at him, “he thinks I should owe him because he gives me a ride when I need it, because he brings me coffee on Wednesday mornings when we both start at 6 am, because he gave me the job when he probably shouldn’t have – because I _really wasn’t qualified_.”

Noah nodded; he could relate to that. He’d been in this job seven months now and he was only just getting his first, big case; and he knew everyone was expecting him to fuck it up.

“I know why he does all those things. I know why he chooses to squeeze behind me when I use the PCR machine rather than going around the long way, and why he stares or touches my arm for a little too long.”

Claudia took a shaky breath, she looked up and Noah saw her dark eyes were brimmed with tears.

“I’m a pretty girl, deputy. It sounds conceited to say I know, but I am. He gave me that job because he likes the way I look in a pencil skirt, and since I’ve refused every one of his less than discrete proposals to _join him in his office_ , he thinks I owe him. He thinks I should’ve covered up a murder for him because I wouldn’t sleep with him.”

“Miss Gajos, if you want to file a sexual harassment-”

Claudia shook her head, “no. That’s not what I’m saying. I was always going to tell you the truth, I didn’t suddenly remember the eighth commandment halfway through our interview – I knew coming in here that I had to tell the truth, to get justice for the family, because it’s the right thing to do because my God told me to.”

Noah bit his tongue.

“But I hesitated because I doubted myself and I wondered if I really did owe him something because I wouldn’t…” the tears spilt over, and her small frame shook.

“You don’t owe him anything,” Noah said firmly, “you did the right thing – for the Jones’ family, for yourself, for…your God.”

Claudia raised an eyebrow at him, “you don’t seem like a man who believes in God, deputy.”

“I’m not, but I can tell he’s important to you. And you’re upset, I think I know enough about religion to know that people take comfort in God when they’re upset.”

Claudia wiped her eyes, “I don’t know why I’m even crying; this isn’t supposed to be about me. It's about those poor babies being buried by their grandparents because their parents are dead too-”

“I know, it’s a lot to take in-”

“No. He never gives us more than we can handle! He has a…a plan,” Claudia stood up abruptly and began to search her bag for her keys, “d-do you have any more questions? I told you he wasn’t with me, that’s what you wanted? I can go now?”

“Uh, yes. I suppose so, I just need you to sign this,” he handed her a clipboard and pen, Claudia grabbed it and scribbled her signature then thrust it back at him, “Miss Gajos if you-”

Claudia had already turned to leave, but she spun back around and stared at him with those dark eyes; so dark they were almost black. Her thick eyelashes were clumped together with tears.

“If you ever need anything…anything at all please don’t hesitate to call the station and ask for me.”

Claudia cracked a small smile, “and who should I ask for, the deputy with no sense of humour?”

“Deputy Stilinski-”

“Stilinski? Sounds Polish.”

“Noah, you can call me Noah.”

“Noah,” she said softly, “like with the ark.”

“Right, you can ask for Noah. _Like with the ark_.”

“I suppose you should call me Claudia then, but Claudia like cloud. _Not claw_.”

“Okay, Claudia _like cloud_ , I’ll walk you out.”


	2. Chapter 2

Claudia had a hybrid English-Polish accent the second time he met her.

It was July of 1989 and Beacon Hills was in the middle of a heatwave. The grocery store was packed with people buying ice pops and pool inflatables. Claudia was in the tinned foods aisle when Noah saw her; she was wearing a short, orange sundress and her dark hair was tied up in a ponytail. Her skin was distinctively more tanned than the last time he had seen her.

She was talking to a young store employee; Noah recognised him from his high school English class but he couldn’t place a name. He looked starstruck as Claudia spoke to him, wide-eyed and lips parted. Noah could hardly blame him, and he stood stunned for several moments, gripping his shopping cart as he watched them talk. He couldn’t see her face, but she was gesturing animatedly, and he could almost hear her thick, Polish accent.

So, when his body finally lurched forward and allowed him to move within earshot, he was surprised to hear that Claudia didn’t sound Polish at all anymore when she spoke. She sounded English, with a very subtle Polish lilt.

“So, you don’t have any?”

“N-no ma’am sorry, I’m afraid we don’t sell any…sawyer-crot, was it?” he said, fumbling over every word.

“ _Sauerkraut_ ,” Claudia corrected, and Noah grinned as her Polish accent made a re-appearance.

“Right. We don’t sell that…we have mustard and ketchup in aisle three though!” he added brightly.

“Hmm, nevermind,” she said flatly, “thank you for your help, sir,” she added, her voice low and smooth, and distinctively English.

Noah waited for the young man to laugh nervously and scurry away before he approached her.

“Hello, Claudia _like cloud_ ,” he said.

She whipped round to face him, almost hitting him in the face with her long ponytail in the process and looked at him blankly for a few seconds. And Noah’s heart sank – she didn’t recognise him and now he was just the kind of guy who crept up behind young women in grocery stores.

But her face broke into a smile, “Noah! _Like with the ark_.”

He nodded, “right. You uh- didn’t sound very Polish just there.”

She smirked, “I see why you went into law enforcement – nothing gets past you, deputy.”

He laughed nervously; his eyes flickering from left to right as he tried to avoid making direct eye contact with her. Now she was standing directly in front of him he could appreciate the height difference between them, he hadn’t realised how petite she was during their interview.

“I told you before, you need to relax, deputy,” she grinned at him, exposing a row of straight, white teeth, “I learned English back in Poland before we moved here, and in Poland, they teach British English – so I can put on a semi-decent English accent if I need to,” she looked up at him

“And you need to put on an English accent to do your grocery shopping?”

“I need to put on an English accent whenever I ask someone for help, at the store, at the mechanic…wherever. It's just easier, sometimes when people hear the Slavic accent, they think I can’t actually speak English and they either don’t help me or speak to me like I’m stupid – or they think I’m a Soviet spy,” she said and shrugged.

“That’s terrible!” Noah said indignantly, “do you have names, I’ll-”

“Deputy, it’s really not that big a deal,” she said and waved him off casually, “plus people think English accents are sexy, and half this town thinks I’m from Stratford-upon-Avon or something – _gets me all the boys_ ,” she wiggled her eyebrows.

Noah choked, “r-right. Well, I’m…uh…happy for you then,” he stammered.

Claudia rolled her eyes, “how many times do I need to tell you to relax, deputy? Do I make you uncomfortable?” she asked, slowly taking a step towards him and twirling the end of her ponytail around with her fingers.

“I’m a sheriff’s deputy, I think I can a handle a-”

“Handle a woman? I’m glad to hear that,” she said and winked.

Noah flushed, “Claudia-”

“ _Claudia_.”

Noah winced, _Claudia_ like cloud sounded so much sexier than Claudia like claw.

“ _Claudia_ , we’re in a grocery store,” he looked around hastily, “what if someone-”

“Sees? Hears? So, you’re not a fan of exhibitionism – I’ll bear that in mind.”

“Oh my Go-”

Claudia threw her head back and laughed, “I’m messing with you again, deputy. It’s a joke, you’re meant to laugh – you look like you’re trying to pass a kidney stone.”

Noah chuckled nervously, “I – uh just got off work, busy day. I’ll relax later when I can get a beer.”

Claudia tutted, “bad habits, deputy. Fridays are my half-day, so I get to relax by watching Miami-Vice with my sister.”

“Miami-Vice? Now who’s the one with bad habits,” he snorted.

“What’s wrong with Miami-Vice?” she asked, indignantly.

“I don’t think you have enough time for me to give you the full list,” he said, wrinkling his nose.

“I’m a Don Johnson fan!”

“And here I was thinking you had some taste.”

“Oh come on, _everyone_ loves a crime drama,” Claudia was leaning on the handles of her shopping cart as she spoke to him, Noah kept his eyes firmly fixed on her face.

The bardot cut of her dress exposed her tanned shoulders, littered with freckles and a few moles. Her high ponytail revealed the small, thin scar on her neck – and highlighted the dainty gold crucifix which hung on a fine, gold chain around her neck.

Noah grimaced; he couldn’t look at a _crucifix_ while trying to check her out. 

“I don’t, would you want to watch a hospital lab tech drama show?”

“Well, yeah! Everyone also loves a good medical drama – it’s the lab coats, everyone likes someone in uniform.”

“D-do you like…people in uniform?”

His heart hammered against his chest. He was a sheriff’s deputy; he was confident and intelligent. He’d faced life or death situations and yet he was more flustered by a 5’2 woman than having a gun pointed to his head.

“That’s a stupid question, deputy.”

“Of course it is, you’re right. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to-”

“No. I meant it’s a stupid because I thought it was already obvious – I _love_ a man in uniform.”

Noah gaped at her. She was looking up at him, her eyes wide and mischievous. Even under the bright, fluorescent lights in the grocery store her eyes were still dark as the night sky; but they twinkled with the brightness of a thousand invisible stars. 

Noah Stilinski didn’t know it then, but he was going to wake up and fall asleep to the sight of those eyes for the next 14 years of his life.

In 1989, all he knew was that Claudia Gajos was beautiful and brilliant and _infuriating_ – his chest seized up whenever he looked at her.

“Claudia! Szukałem ciebie!” a voice called from the end of the aisle.

Claudia rolled her eyes, “Zofia – my sister,” she said motioning to the heavily pregnant woman waddling towards them.

“The Miami Vice fan?” Noah questioned.

“Miami Vice’s number one fan,” she mumbled in response.

“Claudia!” Zofia snapped, “gdzie byłeś?”

“Mówiłem ci, że szukam kiszonej sauerkraut!”

Noah stared in awe as the words slipped effortlessly from Claudia's lips; he didn't know why he was surprised to hear her speak Polish. He knew it was her first language, he knew she'd lived in Poland for the first 10 years of her life, and with the way she compulsively corrected his pronunciation of her name, he knew she was very proud of her heritage. 

Noah had never thought he could be attracted to something he could not understand in the slightest, but hearing Claudia rattle off a stream of incomprehensible words was sending sparks through his body.

Zofia’s eyes flickered to Noah who smiled awkwardly at her, “hey,” he said.

“Kto to jest?” she asked Claudia, her sceptical gaze not breaking away from Noah.

“This is Deputy Stilinski, he’s the one who interviewed me – I told you about him.”

“You told your sister about me?” he half-whispered, eyes darting between Claudia and Zofia.

“Of course I did,” she said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

She had told her sister about him. Was he a minor part of the 'I had to be interviewed by the cops' story or was he the focal point? She had called him cute after-all. 

“Ahhh,” Zofia said, looking Noah up and down, “Rozumiem, co masz na myśli, _jest przystojny_. _”_

Claudia giggled, “wiem dobrze!”

“Er…Claudia, I still don’t speak Polish.”

“Right! Yes, of course, you don’t…my sister was just complaining I’m taking too long – she’s worried we’ll miss Miami Vice-”

“I didn’t say that-”

“Sorry, she doesn’t speak English very well,” Claudia interrupted, “come on Zofia, we will go home now, okay?” she said very slowly, as though speaking to a child.

“Suka,” she muttered under her breath.

“She says it was nice to meet you,” Claudia said, she grabbed a few cans of beans and a jar of pickles from the shelf behind her and tossed it in the shopping cart, “come on Zofia, _chodźmy, zanim mnie zawstydzisz_.”

“Like I apparently already said, nice to meet you, Deputy Stilinski,” she said with a curt nod, and gave Claudia a pointed look before she shuffled away.

Noah gave a half-hearted wave in return.

“Sorry about her, she’s nosy – especially when she finds me talking to handsome strangers.”

Noah flushed, “we’re not strangers.”

“No, but you certainly are handsome, deputy.”

“Well, I – uh…I-”

“This is the part where you say thank you, and you tell me I’m beautiful.”

Noah snorted, “you don’t need me to tell you that.”

“But I want you to,” she whispered.

From her plump lips to her sharp cheekbones to her long, thick hair, there was no question that Claudia was a very beautiful woman.   
  
But her face was nothing without that wicked grin, or wiggling eyebrows or piercing stare. Noah was mesmerised by her every micro-movement; there was just _something_ there he couldn’t explain.

Some kind of spark. 

He gripped the handle of the shopping cart and looked down, “you’re beautiful _Claudia Gajos_. But I think you already know that I think that.”

“Like I said, deputy, nothing gets past you,” she grinned, “anyways – I better go before Zofia kills me. And, more importantly, Don Johnson awaits me. Goodbye, deputy.”

“I told you to call me Noah,” he frowned.

“I know, but I like calling you deputy,” she winked at him, “do widzenia.”

“Bye….”

Claudia turned and followed her sister’s path, swaying her hips as she lazily pushed the shopping cart. Noah stood, dumbfounded in the middle of the aisle – watching Claudia’s long, tanned legs disappear round the corner.

Noah was in a daze as he strolled through the remaining aisles in the grocery store. It was a good thing he lived alone because he was too busy thinking about the short hem of Claudia Gajos’ skirt to focus on the items he was pulling off the shelves. He’d be eating cheese and peanut butter sandwiches washed down with chocolate milk all week at this rate.

He wondered how a woman he’d met twice could occupy so much space in his brain. So much so that he even forgot to pick up a six-pack, he would not be relaxing with that beer tonight after all. 

Noah had never met a woman like her.

He kept an avid eye out for her and her sister as the cashier wrung up his groceries; she gave him a confused look as she scanned the third jar of pickled beetroot.

He smiled uncomfortably at her.

“That’ll be $28.89, deputy,” she said.

Noah realised at that moment that the only person he wanted to call him deputy was Claudia Gajos.

He paid and hastily scooped the bags into his arms and placed them back in his cart, and then he bolted out of the store. He didn’t spare a second to look back at the judgmental cashier. He told himself she was the reason he was so anxious to get out of the store, but really it was the thought of another woman entirely.

The heat hit him like a wall as he burst into the car park.

He panted and scanned the scene in front of him for Claudia. But it was 6 pm on a Friday night in the middle of a heatwave, half of Beacon Hills had flocked to the store for barbeque supplies and ice cream.

Noah sighed; he was being _stupid_. He was chasing after a woman he’d met twice because she had pretty eyes and a seductive accent? Because she flirted with him and sent chills across his body when she called him deputy? Noah couldn’t put his finger on it exactly, but something about Claudia was so enticing he was already desperate to meet her again.

He pushed his cart over to his car and began loading in his groceries, his heart lurched when he heard a blaring horn from the road next to the store. His head snapped up, and he saw a blue jeep zooming past. He squinted to make out the driver and couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face when he saw a vibrant, orange blur in the driver's side seat.

He laughed out loud and shook his head. Damn that woman.

Noah Stilinski didn’t know it then, but Claudia Gajos was about to occupy his every dream and waking thought for the rest of his life. He wasn’t a religious man, but he wondered if Claudia had been onto something when she told him that God always has a plan. Against all of his better judgments, he hoped that it was God’s plan that Claudia Gajos would stay in his life for a long time to come.  


He prayed for a miracle.

In 1989, all he knew was that it was just after 6 pm on a Friday night, and Miami Vice aired at 6.30 pm. Noah Stilinski raced home, Claudia’s voice ringing in his ears the whole journey.


	3. Chapter 3

Noah had a horrific Polish accent the third time he met her.

Beacon Hills library only had a small foreign language section, and the only copy of ‘Introduction to Polish’ was a battered book-shaped lump with a faded blue cover. The librarian gave him a sceptical look as he checked it out.

“They can’t be working you awfully hard, deputy,” she said, looking over the rims of her glasses as she spoke to him, “if you’ve got time to learn…uh… _Polish_ , is it?” she squinted her beady eyes to clearly read the faded gold lettering on the cover.

“Yes ma’am, Polish,” he said.

“Hmm,” she looked him up and down one last time before she stamped the inside of the cover, “it's due back six weeks today.”

He nodded, “thanks,” he mumbled, grabbing the book and high tailing out of the library.

It had been less than a week since he’d ran into Claudia at the grocery store, and Beacon Hills was still in the midst of a heatwave. The midday sun was beating down on Noah as he strolled back to his cruiser. Downtown traffic was unusually quiet, so he had no concerns about getting back to work before the end of his lunch hour. 

He couldn’t fight the grin on his face as he drove back to the station. The sky was blue; the air was warm and the gold lettering on the cover of Introduction to Polish reflected around the inside of his car as the sunlight streamed through the open window.

He arrived back at the station and parked out front. Grabbing the book from the passenger’s seat he tucked it under his arm and sauntered inside the station. He had a spring in his step and a smile on his face until Deputy Wilson appeared from behind a filing cabinet.

“Afternoon, lover boy,” he drawled, in a terrible attempt of Claudia’s accent.

“Shut up Wilson,” Noah grunted, pushing past him to get to his desk.

He sat down and gently placed the book next to him. But Wilson was relentless and liked to haze the younger deputies, so he followed and pulled up a chair, and sat backwards on it, facing Noah.

“Wilson, I’m not in the mood-”

“Aw come off it, Stilinski. The hottest woman I’ve ever met – _barring my wife of course_ – comes in here for an interview and spends the whole time flirting with you, then you meet her in a grocery store, and she flirts with you again-”

“Who’s flirting with Stilinski?” Deputy Cross said, he appeared from the break room with his mouth full and half a sandwich in his hand.

“That Polish chick he had to interview for the hit and run case, Stilinski’s in _love_ ,” Wilson mocked.

Noah flushed and threw a pen at him, which he expertly caught.

“Was she hot?” Cross asked.

“Was she hot? Oft, let me tell you man, she had these big, brown and eyes and this sexy accent – oh and her legs in that skirt! Now, I’m a married man but-”

“Maybe you should start acting like it,” Noah said through gritted teeth.

“Ooooo,” Cross mocked, “look Wilson, you’re making him jealous!”

“No, he isn’t – I just don’t think he should speak about her like that, it's disrespectful,” he said stiffly.

That was only half true; Noah did think Wilson was being disrespectful. But he was also jealous. Although that made him a hypocrite considering he'd thought at length about Claudia’s legs, and accent and eyes and now his stomach was bubbling because Wilson had the nerve to tell Cross that she was ‘hot’. 

“Hey, I said she had nice eyes! That’s a respectful comment.”

Noah huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. Wilson may have noticed that Claudia was beautiful, but he hadn’t said a word to her beyond ‘hello’ and ‘Deputy Stilinski is over there’, he didn’t know her. Neither did he really, but he knew her better than Wilson did and that was something. He knew how to pronounce her name properly, the same could not be said for Wilson. Claudia was right; Americans did butcher everything and Wilson was making a hack job of her roll-off-the-tongue name with his Texan drawl.

Wilson ruffled his hair, and Noah pushed him off, “come on Stilinski we’re just messing with ya, I’m sure she’s a lovely girl. You should ask her out.”

“No, I shouldn’t.”

“Come on, why not?” Cross asked.

Noah sighed, “Cross you weren’t working that night, you didn’t see her. She’s gorgeous – _and_ she’s funny, and she must be smart she works in a lab-”

“Okay lover boy we get the point, she’s amazing – so you should ask her out!”

“No. I met her through work, it would be inappropriate.”

Wilson rolled his eyes, “no it wouldn’t. She wasn’t a victim; she wasn’t a family member. She wasn’t even a proper witness – you just had to interview to check the dude’s alibi, she isn’t traumatised or grieving so you’re not taking advantage or whatever.”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t have met her if I hadn’t needed to interview her.”

“You said you ran into her in the store last week! You could’ve just as easily met her there and then you’d still be coming up with a reason not to ask her out,” Wilson said.

“Why do you care so much if I do or I don’t.”

“Cos’ you’re gonna regret it if you don’t,” Cross shrugged, and took another large bite of his sandwich.

“Yeah, and then we’ll need to put up with you moping around here every day, and I don’t like you when you’re in a mood – so grow a pair and ask the girl out already.”

Noah’s heart sank in his chest like lead. Cross was right, he would regret not asking her out because it was an inevitable fact that someone else would. Because she was bright and bubbly and brilliant, any man would be a fool not to. Yet here he was making excuses to himself and his friends about why he couldn’t ask her out.

“She would never say yes even if I did, like I said she’s funny and beautiful and definitely out of my league.”

“You’re a good-looking guy, Stilinski,” Cross said with his mouth full.

Noah and Wilson both turned to stare at him.

“What? I’m just saying! If you’re worried about asking her out cos’, she’s hot then I’m telling you – you’re hot too.”

“Thanks, Cross…I’ll keep that in mind. But it’s not just that, I like this girl, but I don’t wanna come on too strong – we’ve met twice I don’t want to scare her off.”

“That’s boring Stilinski, if it was me, I’d have asked her out after the interview-”

“You. Are. Married!”

“Yeah, but if I wasn’t!”

Noah shook his head, “Emma is too good for you man.”

That was 100% true; Wilson had a wife that loved him despite his flaws. Against all odds, Wilson had been married for nearly ten years; he and Emma were high school sweethearts, married at 18. And nearly a decade later she was still with him despite his crude humour and wandering eyes – Noah wondered what it was like, to love someone so much that you love their flaws too.

“Hey, don’t be like that. I treat her well – _if ya know what I mean_ ,” he winked, thrusting his hips into the air.

“We all know what you mean,” Cross grimaced.

“Is that why you don’t wanna ask her out lover boy? You worried you’ll disappoint Miss Poland?” Wilson teased.

“No,” he grunted, “and stop calling me _lover boy_.”

“I might need to start calling you shit lover boy if you don’t know how to please a woman.”

He winced, the image of Deputy Wilson _pleasing a woman_ was not something he wanted to have ever imagined. And yet here it was, burned into his memory forever.

“ _How to please a woman_ ” Noah repeated, “Wilson, I am begging you – please stop saying stuff like that I’m about to bring my lunch back up.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Cross mumbled, “this sandwich is really good, but I can’t finish it if you keep giving me these mental images.”

“I’m just saying, you learn to give a woman an earth-shattering orgasm and she’ll love you forever – why’d you think Emma’s been with been with me since high school?”

“I like Emma! Don’t ruin my opinion of her by reminding me she actually has sex with you,” Cross said.

“You know Wilson, all this bragging just makes you sound like you’re overcompensating for something.”

“Fuck off, lover boy.”

“Can’t we go back to calling me Bambi? Or training wheels, even.”

“Nah, you lost those nicknames when you solved your first case. It’s lover boy now, but hey maybe if you ask her out, we’ll give you a new name!”

“Yeah, and it won’t be a nice one cos’ she’ll say no, and you’ll find it hilarious,” he huffed as he fidgeted with a pen.

Wilson spun round in his chair, “if you’re gonna do it you’d better get a move on before someone else snaps her up and you end up an old maid.”

Noah’s chest twisted and he clenched his fist around his pen, “I don’t even know if I’m gonna see her again. The Jones’ case is done with, and the grocery store was pure luck.”

“Well, you’re obviously hoping you’re gonna see her again?”

“How’d you make that out?”

“Well, I’m guessing you didn’t pick up Introduction to Polish for a bit of light reading,” Wilson snorted, he leapt up and snatched the book from Noah’s desk before he could react, “where’d you get this thing? It’s falling to pieces.”

“The library, it’s a place people go to get books. Now give it back!”

“He’s very touchy today isn’t he, Deputy Cross?”

“Aw you bet Deputy Wilson, probably tired cos’ he’s up all night thinking about Claudia.”

“I believe you are correct Deputy Cross; I think our dear Deputy Lover Boy was having some personal, adult time thinking about _Miss Claudia Gajos,_ ” Wilson made another horrible attempt at Claudia’s accent.

“Fuck off the both of you,” Noah groaned, “and give me the damn book back!”

Cross and Wilson burst into a fit of hyena-like cackles, and Noah took advantage of Wilson being distracted to snatch the book from him and sit back at his desk.

He had just opened the first page when Sheriff O’Malley burst out of his office, “and what in the good Lord’s name is going on out here?” he thundered, and Wilson and Cross fell silent.

Noah leaned back in his chair lazily, casually flicking through pages on the future conditional tense.

“Wilson! Cross!” he barked, and they jumped to attention, “we’ve got a possible 240 on Madison Avenue South, go deal with it. Give the rest of us some damn peace and quiet!”

“Yessir, right away sir,” Wilson spluttered.

“On it, Sheriff!”

O’Malley gave them a dirty look before turning to Noah, “reading – what I like to see my deputies doing on their breaks, not acting like they’re at a ho-down! Keep it up son,” he gave Noah a rare smile and sauntered back into his office.

Cross had turned a funny shade of grey and had already bolted to the door; Wilson was more relaxed. He leant over Noah’s desk and motioned for him to move closer, to which he begrudgingly complied.

“Look, if you see her again invite her to the barbeque on Friday night. You can spend more time with her but it’s casual, ya know. And Emma will be there, she always knows what to say – just think about it before you say no, okay?”

Before Noah could respond Wilson had already followed Cross out of the door, leaving him alone in the now incredibly quiet station. Noah did think about Wilson’s proposition, he thought about it for the next five hours of his shift. Wilson and Cross were out for the rest of the day, the possible 240 and probably turned out to be nothing and they’d decided to take the liberty of enjoying the sun. Noah was just thankful for the quiet; it gave him time to weigh up his options.

The most likely scenario was that he’d never see Claudia again, Beacon Hills was a small town but not that small. And he worked a lot, so did she by the sounds of it – he didn’t know anywhere she went besides work and church. So really, he should get over it now.

But there was something nagging in the back of his mind, some premonition. Maybe it was just wishful thinking but something in his bones told him that he would see Claudia again, and that’s where the real issue began. Ask her out and face the inevitable, crushing rejection when she said no – because why would she say yes?

Or, she could say yes, and he could get to know her, and she could look at him again with those eyes, and call him _deputy_ again and-

Noah’s mind was racing. He couldn’t focus on the ‘Greetings in Polish’ page of his book which he sneaked peaks at as he worked his way through the mountain of paperwork on his desk. The Sheriff was trusting him with more and more cases now, which lead to more and more paperwork – and more and more distractions from his attempt to correctly pronounce _cześć_.

That’s how Noah spent the rest of his shift; filling out paperwork, mumbling Polish greetings under his breath and debating whether or not to ask Claudia out. It was just after 6 pm when he finished his final report and left the station.

The evening air was still warm, and he relished in it on the car journey home, windows down and radio blaring. He pulled up outside his apartment building and sat in the car for a moment, enjoying the heat from the sun as it gradually slipped closer to the horizon.

Eventually, though, he dragged himself out of the car and opened the backseat door to grab the box of casefiles he’d brought home to look over. He’d just closed the door and turned around when he walked straight into Claudia Gajos, who was struggling to control an exceptionally large dog.

It barked and jumped up on Noah and Claudia tugged on its lead, “down Jerzy!” she snapped trying to pull the German shepherd away from him, “sorry sir, he’s a – oh! Deputy, it’s you,” relief broke her face as she saw him.

Noah could not believe his luck. Unfortunately for him, however, he hadn’t managed to decide whether or not to ask Claudia out on the car journey over. Part of him had been hoping that when he saw her his gut would tell him what to do, but right now his stomach was in knots and therefore, completely useless.

“Claudia! Hi,” he yelped, “I didn’t see you there,” he said, lowering his voice as he tried to fix his hair, and desperately hoped he didn’t have sweat marks.

The dog jumped up on him and tried to lick him; Claudia yanked on the lead again and shouted something in that was definitely not in the greetings page of Introduction to Polish.

“That’s uh – a very lively dog you’ve got there,” he chuckled, “good boy, yes – that’s a good boy,” he said, bending down to pat the dog who whined under his touch.

Claudia tapped her foot against the pavement, “hmph, well he likes you.”

“Dogs like me, and babies – shows good character.”

Claudia blew a strand of hair out of her face and huffed, “this one’s broken – he hates me.”

“Your dog hates you?”

“Not mine, he’s my brother-in-law’s dog,” she sighed, “if you can even call him that, I’m pretty sure he’s more wolf than dog.”

Jerzy growled at her.

“See! It’s feral.”

Noah scratched behind his ears again and the dog rubbed his face against his leg, “aww no he’s not he just needs a bit of attention, don’t you?” he cooed.

“He’d bite my fingers off if I tried that,” she snapped.

“What did you do to make him hate you?”

“Nothing! He’s my stupid brother-in-law’s, he’s been trained to hate me.”

Noah stood up, “I doubt that.”

She snorted and shook her head, “you have not met my brother-in-law.”

Her brows were furrowed, and lips pursed tightly as she spoke; she was cute when she was mad, Noah noted.

“I’ve met your sister, she was…nice.”

“You didn’t understand a word she said.”

“Well, did she say nice things?”

“She did, actually she wouldn’t shut up about you all the way home, all the way through dinner and even through Miami Vice – Zofia never lets anyone talk through Miami Vice.”

Noah flushed, “w-what did she say?”

Part of his brain was telling him not to get his hopes up. Just because Claudia and her sister had talked about him that didn’t mean she liked him. Maybe they just felt sorry for the bumbling mess he became whenever Claudia turned on the charm.

“Just asking me questions, she’s nosy.”

“What questions?”

He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to know the answer that, but the words had slipped out before the rational part of his brain had the chance to stop him. Noah couldn’t figure out why this woman had this impact on him, she was standing in front of him wearing jean shorts and a t-shirt with her hair in a messy braid, yet he was still hypnotised by every mannerism and word.

  
“You’re nosy too – you Zofia and _Aleksander_ would get on well,” she said, wrinkling her nose as she sneered his name. 

“You aren’t the biggest fan of your brother-in-law, are you?”

Claudia’s face softened, “sorry, there’s just been some tension recently. That’s the only reason I volunteered to walk the stupid dog – I needed out of that house.”

Jerzy barked loudly and tugged against his lead.

Claudia groaned and tightened her grip on the handle, “I’m sorry, he’s getting impatient – Aleksi spoils him too much. Walk with me?”

“Walk with you?”

Noah felt lightheaded and his heart pounded in his chest.

“Well only if you want to, of course. I’m sure you’re very busy, deputy. Wait – are you working right now?” she asked, motioning to the box in his arms, “if you’re here on some police business don’t let me get in your way.”

“No, no, no,” he reassured, “I just got off work, this is my apartment.”

“You live _here_?”

Noah looked at his feet, “I know its not the nicest part of town, but I didn’t want any roommates and its all I could afford on my own-”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that!” Claudia said quickly, “it’s just I only live three streets over – I can’t believe we stay so close to each and didn’t meet sooner.”

“Yeah, that kinda sucks actually,” he laughed, “I could have known you for so much longer.”

Claudia stepped closer to him and looked up into his eyes, “would you have liked that, deputy? To have had more time knowing me?”

“Well yeah, I…uh-”

“Deputy?”

He swallowed and looked back at her, “yes.”

“Walk with me.”

“Right!” Noah fumbled with his keys and opened the door of his car, “I’d like that. I’d really like that actually,” he grinned as he placed the box back inside.

He turned back to face her and saw a smile playing on her lips; she leant casually against the wall, her eyes looking him up and down.

“Here,” she said, handing him the dog’s lead, “you take him. He likes you and my arms hurt from stopping him drag me down the street every time he sees a bird!”

Noah chuckled and took the lead from her outstretched arm, his heart skipped a beat when his hand brushed against hers. He let her choose their path, she led him down the street and along to the left. He was more than happy to follow her, watching her speak as the sun’s golden rays bounced off her face.

“So, what’s wrong with the brother-in-law?”

“I mean he’s just such an asshole! I begged her not to marry him, but she did it anyway, and here we are three years later, and I’m being dragged into their marital problems?”

“So, you live with your sister and her husband?”

She nodded, begrudgingly, “yes and their hellhound,” she glared at the dog who barked back at her, “Zofia and Aleksi have been saving up for their own place. Our live with us parents too – Catholic, immigrant parents are _very_ protective and mine are particularly old-fashioned.”

“Oh, sounds like you’ve got a lot to deal with.”

He held the leash tight in his fist as Claudia led him down a winding side street lined with plush trees which provided some well-needed shade. Jerzy trotted along next to him, he seemed quite content. Except when he snapped at Claudia’s ankles. Noah had to fight the grin that kept creeping onto his face, Claudia was confiding in him about her family troubles; he had to stop thinking about domestic dog walks.

“Yeah, no kidding,” she snorted, “Aleksi and Zofia were arguing about the baby again last night, I took her side. But my parents took his and things got quite ugly. I got home from work today and couldn’t bear to be in the house a minute longer.”

“Your parents sided with him over their own daughter?”

Claudia gritted her teeth, “yeah, it’s bad, isn’t it? But like I said they’re old-fashioned. See, Zofia and Aleksi have been looking at houses and they’ve put in an offer for one they like, it’s all meant to be settled next month and things were looking good. But then last night at dinner Aleski reveals he’s expecting Zofia to quit her job and be a _stay-at-home mom and housewife_ when the baby is born.”

“And I’m assuming your sister doesn’t want that?”

Claudia shook her head, “not at all, she teaches second grade, and she loves it. I mean she’ll love her baby more obviously, but that doesn’t mean she’s gonna give up her job just cos’ she’s a mom.”

“She’s lucky she’s got you to stick up for her – I can’t believe he would ask his wife to give up her job.”

“I know! And my parents act like we’re still living in 1960’s Poland, it’s like they can’t recognise that Zofia and I have lived in America longer than we lived there so we have a different perspective.”

“Is Aleski Polish too?”

“His parents are, but he was born here – he’s just sexist,” she glared at Jerzy as she spoke. 

“Yeah, I know the type,” he nodded glumly.

“I mean I love my parents, but I just can’t believe they sat across from Zofia at the dinner table and took his side over her. And obviously, I’m going to support my sister regardless, but especially when the three of them are against her.”

“You’re a good sister,” he reassured, he gave her a comforting smile and he was filled with joy to see her brow un-furrowed for a split second as she smiled back.

“If I were really a good sister, I _never_ would have let her marry him. It just makes me sad for her because she’s so excited for this baby, but he keeps ruining it – you and your husband are supposed to be a team, not fighting against each other! I have less and less faith in marriage every time I’m in the same room as them.”

“You don’t want to get married?”

“I don’t know,” she took a deep sigh and shrugged, “I always imagined my life a certain way, but I just seem to be getting further away from what I pictured for myself.”

“What did you imagine?” he asked, trying to balance between learning with what he wanted to know and not prying too much – he did not want to come on too strong.

“Oh, I don’t want to bore you with that,” she shook her head and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“No, I want to hear it.”

“Really?” she asked, clearly surprised.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”

She laughed, “uh well, I always knew I wanted to go to college – and I did. I got a full scholarship to study biomedical sciences at Washington State, I got a decent job doing what I enjoy. Professionally, I am happy with the path I’m on.”

“But personally?”

“I’m not my mother, not everything is about marriage and babies for me, but I’d hoped by 25 I might have met someone I like at least.”

Noah laughed.

“Glad you find my pathetic love life funny, deputy.”

“No, no, no – its not that. I’m just finding it hard to believe that you can’t find a boyfriend.”

“Why’s that?”

She looked up at him with those wide eyes again, Noah wondered when that look was going to stop making his heart seize in his chest.

“Claudia, have you looked at yourself in the mirror? Plus, you’re witty and smart and-”

“And very picky with my men, do you think I flirt with just anyone, deputy?”

“I-I don’t know,” he stammered, he ran his fingers over the rough leather of Jerzy’s lead and tapped his foot; anything to avoid looking at Claudia until he could be sure he wasn’t blushing.

Claudia stopped in her tracks and turned to face him, “I’ll let you in on a secret then, deputy – I don’t.”

“Is this you flirting right now?” he said breathily, again his brain acted before he had the chance to register what he was doing, and Noah was staring into her eyes again.

“Nothing gets past you, does it? I’ve been flirting with you since I met you.”

“Why me though?”

“I told you – I like a man in uniform,” she raised her eyebrows and smirked, Noah became very aware of the fact he was still wearing his work clothes. 

“So, if I was a janitor, you’d still be standing in front of me flirting right now?”

Claudia shrugged, “janitors wear uniforms,” she said and started walking again.

“You got me there.”

He tugged gently on the lead as he started to follow her again, and Jerzy bounded along with him.

“Truth is, I don’t know why you. I mean you’re handsome and I flirt with handsome men but there was just something about you I liked – je ne sais quoi.”

“Je ne – what?”

“Do Americans ever take foreign language classes?”

Noah laughed and looked down at his feet, “actually, I went to the library today and checked out the only copy of Introduction to Polish.”

“Did you really?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“I’m impressed, deputy,” she said, turning her head and giving him a dazzling smile.

They had exited the covered canopy of trees; the sun was shining on them again and Claudia squinted her eyes slightly as the brightness hit them.

“Don’t speak so soon, you haven’t heard me try to say anything yet.”

“Say something then.”

“No way, I only got it today and I haven’t had time to practice-”

“Deputy, less speaking English, more speaking Polish.”

He groaned, “okay, okay I’ll try – but don’t laugh at me okay?”

“I’d never laugh at anyone who tried to learn my language.”

“First time for everything, okay here goes - _cześć, miło cię poznać, mam na imię Noah_.”

His voice was slow and wobbly, and his accent was horrific but that didn’t stop the grin that spread across Claudia’s face. He looked at her expectantly, waiting for the laughter but it never came.

“You know what, that wasn’t half bad but if you wanted to learn Polish you could’ve just asked me.”

“That would defeat the purpose of trying to impress you.”

“Well consider me impressed, deputy. But out of curiosity, why did you think learning Polish would be the best way to do that?”

Noah’s heart froze; maybe she thought it was too much, or she thought it was weird. His internal monologue was rambling at light speed again, and he had to push through all of his doubt and insecurity to give her an answer. And fast, because with the way she looked at him he was ready to give her the moon.

“I uh, well…the first thing you did when we met was teach me how to pronounce your name properly, that tells me you’re proud of where you come from. And I don’t think I’ll ever be fluent – or even able to hold a conversation – but I wanted to make an effort, for you.”

Claudia didn’t speak for several moments.

“I’m sorry if that was the wrong answer, or if you think I’m weird or a try-hard, I just-”

“No, it was the perfect answer. I can’t tell you how much that means to me, Noah.”

Claudia looked away from him, for the first time in their series of encounters he had made her blush.

“So, I’m Noah again, huh?”

“Well, we’re having a romantic moment, I thought I’d save the sexual undertone for another time.”

Noah choked; so, he hadn’t been imagining things there after-all.

“Unless you want me to call you deputy again?” she prompted, all traces of redness had drained from her face and she was giving him that cocky, eyebrow raised and lip curled look that made it clear she was back on her game.

“No! I mean uh…yes I like deputy,” he coughed, “but Noah is good too, especially when we’re in public and stuff.”

“Right, you’re not into exhibitionism I remember.”

“Are you?”

She laughed and shook her head, “no, it was just funny to tease you about it, deputy.”

“Glad we’re on the same page about that, because I…uh-”

“Yes?”

“One of the guys from my work is having a barbeque on Friday night – and I know that’s Miami Vice night – but I wondered if you’d want to go with me?”

“Tak, chciałbym to,” she whispered.

“I’m really hoping that means yes in Polish. Cos’ I didn’t get that far into the book, you know I was at work – I wasn’t really meant to be learning Polish and-”

“It does, Noah,” she cut him off with a small smile, “it does.”


End file.
